Blackstone man sentenced for falsely obtaining drugs

A Blackstone man has been sentenced to 2 ½ years in jail for using stolen identities to forge prescriptions and illegally obtain drugs.

John Tropea was also sentenced Wednesday to five years of probation after he pleaded guilty to multiple counts of identity fraud, obtaining drugs by fraud, and false health care claims.

Prosecutors say the 59-year-old Tropea and an accomplice stole identities from across the state, then wrote fraudulent prescriptions on a pad stolen from a doctor's office. They then submitted the forged prescriptions to various pharmacies using stolen insurance information to get prescription painkillers and other medications.

Tropea's accomplice, 33-year-old Keith Huguenin of Woonsocket, R.I., in April pleaded guilty to similar charges and was sentenced to three years of probation and ordered to continue drug treatment.